Holli is a freak!
You want to meet the real me now?
Mal ,'War Stories'
All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American
Discussion of episodes currently airing in Un-American locations (anything that's aired in Australia is fair game), as well as anything else the Un-Americans feel like talking about or we feel like asking them. Please use the show discussion threads for any current-season discussion.
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Burrell - Aug 02, 2003 1:10:49 pm PDT #6109 of 9843
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
Holli - Aug 02, 2003 1:16:27 pm PDT #6110 of 9843
an overblown libretto and a sumptuous score/ could never contain the contradictions I adore
Holli is a freak!
Um, hello? I hang out with *you people.*
Besides, the raisin bagel with lox and cream cheese is yummy. Try it some time.
DavidS - Aug 02, 2003 3:47:34 pm PDT #6111 of 9843
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Crumpets are totally different from what the Muricans call English muffins.
I don't think they're totally different. I think crumpets are what English muffins aspire to be. They're like the platonic ideal and English muffins are but a poor shadow.
Sue - Aug 02, 2003 5:04:55 pm PDT #6112 of 9843
hip deep in pie
And FTR, most American baguettes suffer greatly in comparison, esp the fancy zahzah ones around LA and the Bay Area. Sure I eat them, but they are an altogether different, crusty little beast.
My relatives used to send us over pastries from St. Pierre when I was little. The bread was always heavenly, though so crusty it was almost take out an eye. I always hated when they sent over smelly cheese though. My dad was the only one who would eat it.
I've seen crumpets and English muffins sold as two different things, but I've also heard the terms used interchangeably. I'm confused.
Angus G - Aug 02, 2003 5:48:36 pm PDT #6113 of 9843
Roguish Laird
No, no, no, crumpets and English muffins are two different things! We need Fay back to sort this one out. But just for starters you don't cut crumpets in half.
sj - Aug 02, 2003 5:51:24 pm PDT #6114 of 9843
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
Friends of mine own a tea shop where they make crumpets. They looked very similar to English muffins to me and I asked if that is what they were. If looks could kill...
evil jimi - Aug 02, 2003 7:37:37 pm PDT #6115 of 9843
Lurching from one disaster to the next.
As the bloke on this site says: "crumpets are no more like muffins than bagels are like bread rolls."
Emlah - Aug 03, 2003 1:15:37 am PDT #6116 of 9843
To every idea a shelf...
They're totally different. You don't cut crumpets, and they have a different texture. Not so bready, more rubbery - but in a good way.
Nutty - Aug 03, 2003 4:39:50 am PDT #6117 of 9843
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
Suddenly I am reminded of the Dutch practice of taking spaetzle cookies, frosting them with butter or chocolate spread, and then sprinkling on jimmies. I don't think they eat this for breakfast, but it makes a hell of a snack.
jimi's links to things make it clearer. (US) English muffins are baked on both sides -- flipped some time during baking -- so that the butter-holes are only in the middle, as with unevenly-risen bread. So you have to cut them in half to open up the holes. Whereas it looks like UK crumpets have the holes directly on top. I couldn't tell by looking whether the UK muffin was just a pre-fab version of the crumpet, or something closer to the US English muffin. Certainly, nothing like a US regular muffin.
To confuse things further, crumpets rather remind me of pancakes, if pancakes were made in rings. Although pancakes fall closer to cake on the consistency scale than to bread.
(You will be pleased to know that there's really only one brand of "English muffins", so it's not like we have a vast market of fake-UK muffins. Except, as you can see, real-UK muffins, and crumpets, are relatively unknown, in the grocery store anyway.)
Angus G - Aug 03, 2003 4:45:16 am PDT #6118 of 9843
Roguish Laird
No, it sounds to me like your "English muffins" are in fact English muffins. (I think the confusion arose because someone described them as having "holes", which real English muffins sort of do, but not the ostentatious kind that crumpets have, which seem to be able to absorb as much butter as you care to plop on top of them.)
The consistency of crumpets is nothing like bread, and in fact is probably closer to pancakes, but they're really not like anything else--as Emlah said, they're rubbery, but in a good way. My toaster has a special setting for crumpets! (They're best if the side with the holes gets more heat than the side without.)